History
The Beginnings
In the 17th century, a mighty chestnut tree overshadowed the small tool factory of the Boker family in Remscheid. This tree would later become the namesake and enduring symbol of the Boker Tree Brand. The family first registered the crest in 1674: a green tree on a silver background by the bank of a blue river. Boker’s high-quality tools quickly gained success, and within a century they were among the leading products in Germany and neighboring countries.
By 1829, rising demand for edged weapons during politically unstable times led brothers Hermann and Robert Boker to begin producing sabers. Factory records from September 1830 already listed a weekly production of 2,000 pieces, crafted by 64 smiths, 47 grinders, and numerous laborers. With a steadily expanding range of tools and cutlery, the company saw great opportunities for global sales. Hermann Boker emigrated to New York to establish H. Boker & Co. in 1837, while his brother Robert built businesses in Canada and later founded a subsidiary in Mexico in 1865.
Their cousin Heinrich Boker, meanwhile, crossed the Wupper River to Solingen – then the fastest-growing hub of Germany’s cutlery industry. Together with skilled cutlery expert Hermann Heuser, he founded Heinr. Boker & Co. in 1869, laying the foundation of today’s Boker Manufactory.
Expansion
The Bokers in Remscheid and their cousins overseas quickly recognized the value of the new company’s razors, scissors, and pocket knives. To simplify exports, Heinrich Boker chose a distinctive trademark: the chestnut tree, already more than 200 years old and long used by the family workshop as a heraldic emblem. This symbol was easy to recognize even for customers struggling with the German name “Böker” (including an umlaut) or with widespread illiteracy of the era.
From the very beginning, the Tree Brand became synonymous with quality, and to this day, no knife has left the Boker manufactory without it. Sadly, the original chestnut tree was struck by lightning in 1925 and destroyed by fire. As a tribute, an artist carved the Boker logo from its wood – a piece of craftsmanship that still adorns the entrance to the Boker Manufactory in Solingen.
By the early 1900s, the U.S. market had already become Boker’s largest customer, with H. Boker & Co. in New York focusing heavily on distributing Solingen-made cutlery. Pocket knives soon overtook scissors, razors, and flatware in importance, and demand grew so rapidly that American production began alongside Solingen exports.
World War II
By the early 20th century, Boker’s Tree Brand had become well known in the United States, and Solingen authorized its use on American-made knives – a reflection of the strong transatlantic family ties. This led to two distinct lines of Boker knives in the U.S., sometimes even sharing product numbers, distinguishable only by the stamps “Boker USA” or “H. Boker Improved Cutlery Solingen.”
During World War II, all contact between the German and American branches ceased. The Solingen factory was completely destroyed by firebombing; machines, tools, catalogs, and product samples were all lost. Only a few rare originals survived in private homes and were later returned to Boker. Even more devastating, Boker lost its U.S. trademark rights, which were confiscated under American law. John Boker Jr. acquired the rights in New York to continue selling both American and German products under the Tree Brand.
Despite this, loyal craftsmen who survived the war returned to rebuild the factory in Solingen. Production slowly resumed, maintaining the same high quality as before. Within a few years, Boker USA renewed its partnership with Solingen, placing large orders and once again becoming the main customer for Boker knives.
Subsidiaries
In the early 1960s, Boker USA was sold, eventually coming under the ownership of Wiss & Sons, a well-known scissor manufacturer. Wiss continued producing Boker knives and selling them alongside Solingen-made products, though Boker scissors disappeared from the U.S. market to avoid competing with Wiss’s own line.
In the 1970s, Wiss sold Boker USA to Cooper Industries, one of America’s oldest industrial corporations. This partnership revitalized Boker’s presence in the U.S., enabling modernization in Solingen and strengthening the brand’s global reputation. By 1983, Cooper ceased knife production and focused solely on distributing Solingen-made products. In 1986, trademark rights were returned to Boker Solingen, leading to the founding of Boker USA, Inc. in Denver, Colorado, which has since operated successfully across the North American market.
In 1983, Boker also established Boker Arbolito S.A. in Buenos Aires, Argentina, producing household and professional knives as well as premium hunting and outdoor knives in traditional styles. Arbolito quickly became highly regarded across South American markets, particularly in Argentina and Chile. From 1947 until 2020, the Boker logo proudly included both Treebrand and Arbolito, symbolizing the importance of the American markets to the Solingen manufactory.
Pioneering Work
Though Damascus steel had been known for centuries in Europe and the Middle East, it had never been used for series production of pocket knives until 1980. Together with master smith Manfred Sachse, Boker pioneered this innovation, launching the annual Boker Damascus Year Knife – a collector’s series still continued today.
A decade later, Boker introduced the Magnum Collection, laying the foundation for further exclusive collector’s series. The first Boker catalog for private customers in Europe soon followed, sparking imports of renowned international brands and the launch of the Boker Plus and Magnum product lines.
In the 1990s, Boker forged partnerships with Eastern European manufacturers after the fall of the Iron Curtain, culminating in the creation of the Boker Kalashnikov knife in 2002, developed in collaboration with General Kalashnikov himself. It became one of the world’s most popular automatic knives.
Boker also pioneered the use of high-performance ceramic blades outside Japan in the mid-1990s and introduced the hugely successful Boker Speedlock automatic knife in 1995, which has sold millions worldwide.
By the late 1990s, rising demand prompted construction of a new, modern company headquarters in Solingen. Completed in 1999, it included the Boker Retail Store, a showroom where customers could explore Boker’s full range alongside knives from around the world. Boker also became one of the first German companies to launch an online shop in 2000, making its knives available to customers globally, 24/7.
Today & Future
In the 2000s and 2010s, Böker rose to become Europe’s leading distributor of sporting knives, building a strong foundation with trusted partners around the world. At the same time, our Solingen manufactory continued to expand, establishing Böker as the premier European manufacturer of sporting knives.
Looking ahead, our sights are set firmly on North America. With bold investments in our subsidiary, Boker USA in Denver, Colorado, we are unlocking the enormous potential of the rapidly growing markets in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Driven by our 150-year tradition of craftsmanship and our passion for innovation, we continue to strengthen our global footprint – bringing the legendary Boker quality to more enthusiasts, professionals, and collectors than ever before.